I was in Sydney on the weekend of the 19-20th of September for the Accessible Arts Expo, and while I was there I had the opportunity to do some research into the most recent cameras that would be most accessible for people with disability. I went into TEDS camera store in Sydney and physically tried out a number of cameras which were either touch screen or could be totally controlled from an app downloaded from the app store.

The cameras from Panasonic were the most accessible as they enabled control of all camera functions such as ISO, shutter speed and aperture but also the ZOOM — this was the only manufacturer that was combining higher end 1” sensor with the accessible app. 1" is not that high, but higher than the basic point and shoot which often have a sensor 1/2.3” (very small). See image above picturing the different sensor sizes.

The Panasonic app has a great user interface and so is easy to navigate, as is the camera functionality. Controls are not buried deep inside the menu so its simple to make your way around.

The camera has an electronic zoom therefore it is able to be controlled through the app. This is really amazing as the zoom is 25-400mm and is a Leica lens. The camera comes out of the Panasonic factory but is identical to the Leica.

Panasonic DMC-FZ1000 with Leica 25-400mm zoom lens f2.8-f4. The camera is about $1000 Check out this reviewwww.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz1000This is the camera I recommend, because it can be totally controlled from an app on the iPhone or Android. The app is great to use and can also control the zoom — none of the other cameras enable you to control as much as this one. Panasonic DMC-FZ1000 with Leica 25-400mm zoom lens f2.8-f4. This camera is not touch screen, but through the free Panasonic image app for mobile devices you can control everything including zoom.

During my time in Bathurst I was lucky to be able to stay with Rachel Ellis.

Rachel is an artist, and has a beautiful home filled with artful objects and paintings lining the walls. It was such a pleasure to stay there, and it made the whole trip a lovely experience. A big thanks to Rachel!

One of Rachel Ellis' paintings

Still life flowers in Rachel's home

This series of rural workshops, doing one after the other so close together, is making it even clearer that each new workshop is totally different from the last!

In this particular workshop I worked with a group of 4 people. Their names were Sean Gibson, George Green, Ally Salter and Katherine Inwersen. Each had a different disability, and got different things out of the workshop program.ALLY has cerebral palsy and let's us know if she likes something by an excited animated expression, as she cannot speak nor control her physical movements. She responded really strongly to the image previously created by Emily where her face is blended with that of a tiger. Ally loves animals and so we created a portrait of her in a beautiful fur jacket with a white tiger.

Ally is learning photography once a week and will now have a switch to enable her to control the camera shutter fitted to her chair. She is taking photos with her carer by expressing her excitement when she sees something she wants to make an image of.

GEORGE was one participant who really enjoyed drawing with the Wacom tablet. He used the tablet and stylus to paint his portrait, which is painted digitally over his photographic portrait to create an entirely new image.

George paints on the computer at home and says that his self-portrait was inspired by a portrait by Picasso, because his style is so different and unique. It was great to see George embracing these techniques.

SEAN took to the workshops straight away, showing a strong interest in drawing and cartoon-style imagery. For Sean, I developed an alternative program that enabled him to draw over the top of his photograph and then remove the underlying photographic image. He was particularly inspired by Popeye, using a pipe creating a speech bubble that has a statement about his concern for the environment. The result was amazing and he was obviously very engaged in the process.

At the end of the workshops we discovered that Sean had been a graffiti artist, and had actually acquired his brain injury while doing his graffiti art. His carers from ABI and family came along to the final exhibition and saw his focused interest in the program. They said that they intended to purchase the apps and iPad for his upcoming birthday. Sean also wrote by hand a long message of text about the environment that accompanies his image, which the carer agency took this back to the office and framed – they believed this would be an encouragement to his carers to see what Sean was capable of.

KATHERINE arrived at the workshop in a very negative space. She wanted to make an image that expressed her real feelings about her disability that she had always kept hidden since her horse riding accident 15 years ago. Her original ideas for her artwork were extremely bleak and lacking hope, so as we further discussed things I tried to focus on any positives I could find. After further conversation, I found that Kathy had a strong connection to her animals, and we spoke about how they loved and relied upon her.

The next day Catherine came to the workshop more positive and changed her image to include her animals and grandson in her portrait. They were waking with her down the road and leaving the bleakness behind. By the end of the project, Katherine said she felt so much lighter, having let go of the burden of her dark emotions. In an interview, she described art as "another means of self expression and communication" and saying that the workshops were "cathartic in the utmost degree."

While in Bathurst, I also had time to check out a couple of local food spots. The Church Bar served fabulous thin crust pizza with a great atmosphere, and the Hub Cafe offered lovely outdoor eating under the grape vine.

Thank you Bathurst!

August saw the beginning of the Imagine Me Royal Rehab Rural NSW workshop series — first stop Goulburn.

I traveled out of Sydney on a dark and stormy day. As I drove along looking at this dramatic cloudscape, I couldn't resist stopping to take some photos.

Once in Goulburn, I had the chance to get my bearings and explore a bit. I stopped at the Grit cafe, well known by locals for its delicious food and accessible layout. The best thing I had was a salad of apple, celery and brown rice to accompany an old favourite corn fritters with salsa. Yum!

View on the way to Goulburn

The Grit cafe

My first workshop was with Goulburn resident Jim Nichols. He was a pleasure to work with and had a lot of positive things to say about his life.

"Living in Goulburn is good. I know almost everyone. Have plenty of friends. One of the real pleasures of my life is to assist at the 2 local primary schools here in Goulburn. I help young children who have problems with reading and comprehension. To get a child to love reading, they have to read what interests them. I read them harry potter and flat foot rock! I was always a keen reader, when I was young I read comics – my hero was the Phantom!"

To reflect his love of books, we worked with this theme in his self-portrait.

While in Goulburn I was lucky to be able to catch up with an old friend from art school at her property near Collector, NSW.

Her home is on a beautiful sheep-farming property called Bohara. Walking around the paddocks in the early morning, I was happy to be out in the country again. It was still really cold and frosty at this point, with tiny, glittering ice particles covering the grass — and even the sheep!

Early morning mist

Blue skies and frosty fields

The next stop on the tour was a workshop at the Crescent School, a school that caters to young people with special needs such as intellectual disabilities and autism.

This workshop was quite different from my usual workshops teaching people with spinal cord injuries, and at first I was a bit anxious about how it would all work out. Luckily, the students and teachers were all so lovely and welcoming that my worries were quickly erased. It was actually really interesting for me to see how the Imagine Me program can work in different settings like this.

The students ended up with some great self-portraits and it was heart-warming to see that they were so proud of their finished work.

Working with a student

Before leaving Goulburn, I stopped in at another great accessible restaurant called 98 chairs.

Here I met up with my good friends Eloise Lindsay and Nugent Wade Brown. Nugent used to be a primary school teacher, and had been helping me out with the Crescent School workshops. It was so great to have him around to assist, as he has had years of experience teaching kids with special needs.

The restaurant served a totally fabulous gnocchi with smoked vegetables and cream sauce, which I really recommend to anyone who might be in the Goulburn area!

Nugent, Eloise and I

The chef at 98 chairs

Thank you Goulburn!

Next stop on the workshop tour is Bathurst, so look out for the next wrap-up post soon.